11-17-2022, 09:30 AM
DWP rules on benefit deductions declared illegal after court battle
A former police officer from the Midlands had £81 taken out of her benefits for 18 months for an 'energy bills debt' that didn't actually exist
A High Court judge has ruled that the DWP's policy of allowing utility firms to take money directly out of people's benefits is illegal. It follows a court case in which a Midlands woman successfully argued that water and energy firms should not be able to claw back cash from people's social security payouts without proper checks being carried out.
Helen Timson, a former police officer from Leicester, said the DWP should not approve deductions from benefits without claimants' consent. The case comes after the DWP rejected an appeal from MPs to put all deductions from benefits on hold during the cost of living crisis.
Up to 25 per cent can be taken from Universal Credit payments where claimants owe money to third parties - including energy firms and water suppliers - or for several other reasons, including where recipients have had an advance payment or have been sanctioned…
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/co...6HShOMbwZ4
A former police officer from the Midlands had £81 taken out of her benefits for 18 months for an 'energy bills debt' that didn't actually exist
A High Court judge has ruled that the DWP's policy of allowing utility firms to take money directly out of people's benefits is illegal. It follows a court case in which a Midlands woman successfully argued that water and energy firms should not be able to claw back cash from people's social security payouts without proper checks being carried out.
Helen Timson, a former police officer from Leicester, said the DWP should not approve deductions from benefits without claimants' consent. The case comes after the DWP rejected an appeal from MPs to put all deductions from benefits on hold during the cost of living crisis.
Up to 25 per cent can be taken from Universal Credit payments where claimants owe money to third parties - including energy firms and water suppliers - or for several other reasons, including where recipients have had an advance payment or have been sanctioned…
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/co...6HShOMbwZ4